Haiti's exiled president Aristide will remain in S.Africa

South Africa stated Wednesday that planned elections in Haiti will not solve the island state's problems, and its exiled president Jean-Bertrand Aristide will remain in the country until conditions stabilize.

This statement was made by Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini- Zuma while briefing the media at Parliament in Cape Town.

She said conditions conducive to bringing peace and prosperity to Haiti through elections -- scheduled for November 20 -- currently did not exist.

"Because we think if you have to have an election that has a chance of solving the problems of Haiti, those elections should take place in an atmosphere where every party is free to not just participate, but to actually campaign without repression, without fear of detention," she noted.

"We also think it's important for the Lavalas party (of Aristide) to participate (in elections), because it is the party that used to be supported by the people and a lot of its leaders are either in exile or in jail," she added.

Aristide had clearly indicated he would not run for election this time, because "he doesn't want ... people who want to destabilize to use that as an excuse."

But he had also said very clearly he would like to see a free and fair election in Haiti, where everyone was free to participate and campaign and "leaders are back."

Regarding his position after the elections, Dlamini-Zuma said if there was no peace and stability in Haiti it would be difficult for him to go back.

However, the original agreement with the United States and France when Aristide came to South Africa was that "he is not coming to exile forever."

"So basically, he will be here until the conditions will allow him to go back," she said.

Source: Xinhua